U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday pushed for Asian support on a new overture to end a North Korean nuclear standoff that has cast a shadow over the region for more than a year. A new North Korean missile test underscored the prickly issue.

Alija Izetbegovic, the former Bosnian president whose dream of a Muslim-led independent Bosnia and Herzegovina was transformed by Balkan ethnic rivalries into a protracted war, died Sunday in Sarajevo. He was 78 years old.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami indicated Sunday that Tehran may halt uranium enrichment, which some Western governments say could be used to make atomic bombs, if it is allowed to keep its civilian atomic energy program.